In what ways does your media product use develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
In the production of my media product I decided not to challenge or change the conventions of a rock magazine, therefore I adhered to the conventions. This was due to the fact that these conventions are what attract my target audience, and therefore if I decided to challenge these conventions, the target audience may be put off buying my magazine, as they will be unfamiliar of what genre it is, and whether or not they will actually like the product. Due to this the audience will decide not to buy the product, as they are not interested in it. All these conventions have proved to be successful, by the sales figures of the magazines, which stick to the conventions and therefore they will hopefully help me to sell my rock magazine. I stuck to the typical colour scheme conventions of the cliché black and white for rock, whilst the main image is dominating the majority of the front cover, along with the bold mast head (which copy the typography of the entire page), I decided to make the photo the predominate feature as this is the main article and what sets my magazines apart from the rest, as all other rock magazines will have chart tables, up and coming festival etc. Also I decided to keep the writing down to a minimum, along with the language I used being colloquial, as it is easy to understand and relates to my target audience, as this is the type of language we expect them to use and easily relate to. However, to separate my music magazine from other music magazines of the same genre I decided to use the colour orange, which sticks with the rock and roll theme, as it is a bold eye catching colour, but this colour has yet to be used therefore making it unique to my magazine instead of the typical reds and yellows.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My media product represents particular social groups by the images, colour, font and language, which have been used within the product. This magazine mainly represents individuals who are interested in rock music, who fit in the stereotypical image. It does this by the colours, which have been chosen, such as; black, white, grey and orange, as these colours are the typical colours that we associate with the stereotypical rock listener. This is mainly down to the fact that stereotypically these are the coloured clothes they seem to wear (such as black baggy trousers, with a chain belt finished with a black and red skull t-shirt). A main indication of representation of this social group I have used is the model, which I have decided to use. The model, which I have selected, is a young female, with dark features (i.e. hair, eyes & eyebrows) and pale skin, wearing conventional expression across her face (Grr! Expression. Whilst she is biting her bottom lip, showing aggressive side in a calm manor). As well as the clothes she is wearing are stereotypical of people who support this genre. Another aspects I have used to represent this social group is by the type of language I have selected, which is simple and brief, as we don’t associate this group with using big or complex words, as whilst they are reading this we want them to be enjoying themselves, instead of feeling like they are reading something boring. Lastly I decided to chose a typography which is slightly worn away and rugged, this is because believe it portrays their rebellious behavior.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I think the company, which may consider publishing my product may be IPC media. They already distribute NME magazine an indie/rock genre music magazine, which already have a massive audience who are serious and dedicated to the indie/rock music genre. Their website receives over 20 million viewers every month, meaning that my magazine will receive massive amounts of free advertisement and publicity. Also the target audience will automatically be interested in my product as they trust in IPC media, as they have already made a world famous magazine and they will expect my one to be the same. However my magazine is similar to NME, which IPC already distribute, this in effect could make IPC media not want to distribute and market my product as it is too similar to an existing media product and could lead to rivalry between the two magazines. The IPC would obviously stay loyal to a long running successful magazine opposed to taking a risk with a new one, which may not prove to be as successful. On the other hand the company Bauer media, who already distribute both Q and Kerrang, that are also both indie/rock genre music magazine, and both very successful. Therefore they might be interested in my product as the have seen successes in distributing more than magazine of the same genre, also this way they reduce rivalry from other institutions.
Also music magazine could be published by Anthem Publishing, who publish editions of Music Tech and Guitar and Bass, but they don’t publish a indie/rock magazine meaning that my magazine will both widen their audience to younger listeners as they currently only focus on
Who would be the audience for your media product?
The target audience for my music magazine would be people who listen to the indie/rock genre, predominately between the ages of 16 – 25. This is due to the fact that they will be able to relate to the artist in my magazine, as they are in the same age group. Also they will be attending gigs, which we cover and track the artists that perform. Therefore the target audience will be able to track their favorite artist with us and find out information about gigs where they are going to be attending. I myself fall into this category; therefore I am able to predict what this target audience would be interested in, and what they would like to see within the magazine.
How did attract/address your audience?
To attract my target audience I ensured that my model was picked carefully, as I decided to do a story on exposure of a rock star. Therefore I needed the model to have an essence of innocence about her to represent her day to day life, whilst also having an edgier side, showing the rock ‘n’ roll aspect. Due to this I decided to choose a girl with a delicate, soft friendly looking face. To portray the rock element within the model I used mise-en-scene to help me create the look. This was done by, adding very dark eye make up, creating an essence of dark and edginess. I also dressed the model in a tight satin bodycon dress, along with a pair of ripped black tights and converses, attracting the rock ‘n’ roll audience, as this is what they expect. On the other side I also dressed the model in brightly coloured clothes to represent her old days; when she was sweet, innocent and shy. The complete opposite to what she is now. As well this, I made sure that the model was the same age as my audience. Also I used typical rock colours, so that from a quick glance buyers could easy identify my product as being part of the indie/rock music genre, therefore automatically drawing their attention to it. According to the uses and gratifications approach of what does the audience do with the media? The audience is conceived as active’ therefore they are goal orientated and they will achieve their goal through my media. One way I have done this is by adding surveillance, which is supplying information with in my product that the audience wants to know, such as tour date and background knowledge on the artist. Another thing within the uses and gratification model is the personal identity, by where the audience compares their life to the artist. In the magazine this can be by the audience comparing their life with the artist. This is developed by the reception theory, where conscious implication says that the audience also imagine themselves in a similar situation, this comes from critical distance where we are aware watch we are reading, absorb it and make judgment on it.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Since starting this product I have been introduced to a variety of different products ranging from Prezzi to adobe photo shop. The first piece of technology which I was introduced to was an online website called Prezzi. This enabled an easy and better way to create and produce my coursework, by allowing me to add animations to my power point and better styles. Another technology which was used was survey monkey which allow me to create online polls and questionnaire, it made me realize it is a much efficient and easier way of receiving feedback from my target audience, as I was able to post a link of it on to my online media websites such as facebook and twitter. The main software which I used to create the product itself was the adobe photo shop. I already had experience using this software from when I studied media at GCSE level; therefore I had the basic knowledge of how to use it. I did feel as if though I had a couple of difficulties using it to create my preliminary task, as it had be a while since I had used the software. As a result of this my preliminary task proved vital practice for me to do, in order to create a successful final product. As by doing the preliminary task I was introduced to different tools such as the eyedropper tool, which enabled me to pick a colour up from another place on the image and use it on something to help maintain the perfect colour scheme throughout my production, this proved essential when I was removing little blemishes such as spots and unwanted hair across the models face. I also gained knowledge on how to use the magic lasso tool, to remove excess and/or unwanted background from an image, to enable easy adjustment to both its position and size. This enabled me to cut around my female model and place her onto a different background, with the help of the move tool. Another technology which I used frequently for research was the internet, to help me find out information about my music magazine genre and its conventions, along with other music magazines.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I feel as if that I have gained a variety of skills, along with a large about knowledge concerning how to create a successful media product, which entail research, marketing and distribution. For example due to the lack of time I had to produce the preliminary, I was unable to research any existing magazines, which I have now discovered to have seriously affects on the quality of the overall product. As if I didn’t research I would have been unaware of conventions which are used for typical music magazines such as a pug, or barcode therefore being unable to create a professional and realistic look. Also I learnt that the type of camera used has a massive impact on the quality of your final piece, as for my preliminary task I used a low pixel camera and the photo looked boring and dull, where as for the final product piece the pictures were taken on a much higher quality camera, with a greater amount of thought behind them, such as camera angle. Overall I have learnt to create a successful media product, planning, development of ideas with feedback from a target audience, as well as research needed of existing popular music magazines, so that you can use them for both inspiration and to see which codes and conventions are needed to create a successful magazine.
